Yesterday saw another significant drop in stock markets, more than reversing the bounce we saw the prior day. Up, down, up, down, but largely down—it looks like the market is headed down indefinitely.
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What You Need to Know: Is Renewed Growth Ahead?
One of the key things I do as an analyst is figure out what can be safely ignored. In today’s environment, with so many “different this time” events going on—the pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the 40-year high in inflation—what can we safely disregard? Finding the right answer is not as simple as it was a couple of years ago.
Looking Back at the Markets in April and Ahead to May 2022
April was a hard month for the markets. For the month, U.S. markets were down between 5 percent for the Dow and 14 percent for the Nasdaq, and international markets fell between 5 percent and 7 percent. Fixed income was also down for the month—there was truly nowhere to hide.
Market Thoughts for May 2022 [Video]
April was one of the worst months for the markets since the start of the pandemic.U.S. markets were down between 5 percent for the Dow and 14 percent for the Nasdaq, while international markets fell between 5 percent and 7 percent. Rising interest rates drove the declines, with the Fed signaling it intended to keep tightening monetary policy. Still, the U.S. economic news was positive. Hiring remained strong, supporting consumer confidence, and business confidence and investment remained healthy.
Monday Update: Economy Contracts in the First Quarter
Last week was a busy period for economic updates, with several important data releases that covered wide areas of the economy. The advanced estimate for first-quarter GDP growth showed that the economy surprisingly contracted to start the year, but the underlying data had some positive signs for growth ahead. This will be another busy week of updates, with highlights including business confidence, international trade, the results from the Fed’s May meeting, and the April employment report.
Is the Economy Shrinking?
Chalk another point up on the board for the importance of context. Yesterday’s economic data release showed that the economy actually shrank in the last quarter, down by 1.4 percent at an annual rate. This result was down from 6.9 percent in the prior quarter and well below the expected 1 percent growth rate.